Toh 212, Toh 520, Toh 980 — The Sūtra on Dependent Arising
Pratītyasamutpādasūtra
Translated by the Buddhavacana Translation Group under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on
Dependent Arising
F.41.aF.125.aF.58.aF.99.a[1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. F.41.bF.58.b The Blessed One was in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods, seated on the throne of Indra. With him were great hearers such as the venerable Aśvajit; bodhisattva mahāsattvas such as noble Maitreya, noble Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, who were adorned with immeasurable precious qualities; as well as various gods such as the great Brahmā, who is the lord of the Sahā world, Nārāyaṇa, the great Īśvara, Śakra, who is the chief of the gods, and Pañcaśikha, who is the king of the gandharvas.
On that occasion, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara rose from his seat and, having draped his upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with his right knee on the peak of Mount Meru. His palms together, he then bowed toward the Blessed One and addressed to him these words:
“Blessed One, these gods all really wish to build a stūpa. Now that they are present in this entourage, please teach them the Dharma in such a way so that their merit of Brahmā F.125.b will increase, and the merit of the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen will increase much more than that of all types of beings in the world of gods, māras, and Brahmā, including renunciants and brahmins.”F.99.b
At this, the Blessed One spoke the verses of dependent arising:
“Avalokiteśvara, it is like this. This dependent arising is the dharmakāya of all the tathāgatas. A person who sees dependent arising sees the Tathāgata. Avalokiteśvara, if a faithful son or daughter of a noble family, who has built in an uninhabited place a stūpa—even one no bigger than a gooseberry fruit, with a central pillar the size of a needle and a parasol the size of a flower of the bakula tree—inserts into it this verse of dependent arising which is the dharmadhātu, he or she will generate the merit of Brahmā. When such persons pass on from here and die, they will be reborn in the world of Brahmā. When they pass on from there and die, they will be reborn with fortunes equaling those of the gods of the Pure Abodes.”[3]
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the hearers, bodhisattvas, the whole assembly, and the universe of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised his words.
This concludes the Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on Dependent Arising.
Colophon
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the principal editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.[4]
Notes
Two sets of folio references have been included in this translation due to a discrepancy in volume 88 (rgyud ’bum, na) of the Degé Kangyur between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings. In the latter case, an extra work, Bodhimaṇḍasyālaṃkāralakṣadhāraṇī (Toh 508, byang chub snying po’i rgyan ’bum gyi gzungs), was added as the second text in the volume, thereby displacing the pagination of all the following texts in the same volume by 17 folios. Since the eKangyur follows the later printing, both references have been provided, with the highlighted one linking to the eKangyur viewer.
In the Toh 520 version of the text there is a slight discrepancy in the folio numbering between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings of the Degé Kangyur. Although the discrepancy is irrelevant here, further details concerning this may be found in note 17 of the Toh 520 version of this text.
In the Toh 520 version of the text there is a slight discrepancy in the folio numbering between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings of the Degé Kangyur. Although the discrepancy is irrelevant here, further details concerning this may be found in note 17 of the Toh 520 version of this text.
backThere are multiple variations of this creed found throughout the Buddhist world. See Sykes (1856) and Skilling (2003).
backThis last sentence is omitted in the otherwise identical copies of the work found in the Tantra and Dhāraṇī sections of the Kangyur, Toh 520 and Toh 980, respectively.
backMention of the translators is omitted from the colophon in the versions Toh 520 and Toh 980 (see previous note).
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